Jill Valentine was once a member of S.T.A.R.S., though she is currently suspended and under investigation.
However, for her, suspension or not no longer mattered. The Raccoon City S.T.A.R.S. team was already defunct in all but name, and even if she were allowed to continue, she had no interest.
All she wanted now was to avenge her teammates.
Yet, thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a pang of bitterness. The vast gap between ideals and reality had, at one point, made her feel a profound despair. The giant Shadow of Umbrella made it difficult for her to even breathe, and as for bringing it down, even she thought it was a fool's dream.
People often like to drown their sorrows in alcohol when they are troubled, and Jill was no exception. In fact, she had spent a considerable amount of time in this bar. Only here could she forget the bitterness in her heart.
"Old Josh, another drink for me."
The bartender shook his head, reaching out to press down on the glass in front of Jill. He sighed.
"I know you're sad, Jill. But drinking won't solve anything."
"Damn it, when did you become a priest?" Jill pushed his hand away, directly snatching the bottle from him. "I'm a paying customer, I'm creating income for you. You should just pour me a full glass instead of nagging me like my mother."
"If it weren't for your father and I being old friends, I wouldn't bother saying these useless things to you." Old Josh sighed, taking back the bottle, but still poured her a drink. "Last one, this one's on me. Otherwise, you'll have to settle your tab from the past few days first."
"I know, I know." Jill waved her hand in annoyance, but her attention was drawn to the news playing on the television.
"The number of madman attacks currently breaking out in Raccoon City has increased again. As of today, dozens of cases have occurred. The police department states it will do its utmost to prevent these mad patients from causing more incidents, but as it stands, the situation is not optimistic."
Seeing Jill so focused on the news, Old Josh also watched for a moment. Then he sighed with emotion.
"This World really is chaotic. A while ago, a Mutant almost tore down Paris, and now in our small town, we have a bunch of madmen running around. I really don't know where one can feel a little safe."
"If I were you, I'd stay far away from this damned city," Jill said, taking a sip of her drink, her warning faint. "These madmen could very well kill you."
"Don't take me for one of those weaklings who can't even hold a gun steady!" Old Josh immediately retorted. "Even walking home, I'll have a shotgun in my bag. If any madman dares to bare his teeth at me, just watch me take off a few of his major parts."
"Unless you blow their brains out, it won't do any good." Jill chuckled, lighting a cigarette. "Shoot them in the head before they touch you. Otherwise, you're dead. Whether bitten or scratched."
Hearing this, Old Josh choked, and it was a long while before he spoke.
"You're joking with me, right? Seriously, this isn't funny at all."
"Do you think I'm joking?" In the smoke, Jill's expression was very serious, so serious that Old Josh found it hard to understand her meaning. But he still stuck to his own thoughts.
"Then I think you must be drunk. Listen to my advice, Jill. You're still Young Miss, finish this drink and go home. Some things, after a while, you'll naturally forget."
Jill sneered, exhaling smoke, letting her expression be completely enveloped.
"You also think I'm crazy, you all think I'm crazy. But it's not me who's crazy, you'll regret this later."
Old Josh shrugged; he completely disregarded Jill's warning.
In his eyes, this Child of his old friend was probably just overly depressed because of her suspension; she would naturally get better after a while. He started to busy himself with his tasks, and Jill was no longer willing to waste more words on him.
These days, she had been treated as a lunatic by too many people, a madwoman full of lies, spreading rumors. She had grown accustomed to how these people saw her.
She now just silently drank the hard liquor in front of her, wanting to get herself drunk with it, to make herself forget that nightmare. But no matter how much she drank, she couldn't forget those things. Those things had completely changed her life.
Jill was still drinking, but now there was another person beside her. That person watched her for a while, and after a long time, finally asked.
"Jill Valentine. That should be correct, right?"
Jill squinted at this somewhat strange Asian man, tall stature, unfamiliar face. A complete stranger to her.
"Do we know each other?"
"No, I just wanted to confirm. Is it you?" The stranger looked at her, a faint glow emanating from his black, flat eyes.
"I think you've got the wrong person." Jill's eyes were blurry with drink, but she was still very alert. She quietly reached her hand behind her, where she kept a pistol.
"I don't think I'm wrong, unless there are two people in this World who look exactly alike." The stranger smiled. "But if you still need to confirm. Then, are you Jill Valentine, former S.T.A.R.S. member. Now the city's infamous crazy detective?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Jill immediately stood up from her chair, drawing a pistol from behind her and aiming it at the stranger. A cold question escaped her lips.
"Are you sent by Umbrella?"
It must be said, she was very lucky. Because at this time, there were no other customers in the bar besides her. Otherwise, merely for threatening someone with a gun, she could make it onto television again.
"If I were you, I wouldn't do that." The stranger shook his head, wanting to get a little closer. But as soon as he moved, Jill immediately disengaged the safety.
"If I were you, I wouldn't do that either," she said, using the same words but conveying a completely different meaning. "Answer me, who exactly are you?"
"Seriously, shooting at such close range is really unsafe!" The stranger shrugged, then suddenly darted forward. Before Jill could react, he pressed his hand against the barrel of the gun. Although Jill had instinctively pulled the trigger, the bullet didn't hit its target. Instead, it shattered a nearby chair.
This immediately made Jill feel very uneasy. She quickly swung her fist at the stranger's wrist, hoping to force him to release her pistol by hitting his wrist joint. But the stranger's reaction was faster than hers.
He directly bent his arm, using his elbow to strike Jill's shoulder, causing her body to immediately tilt. He then moved in close, grabbing her swinging fist with one hand, and at the same time, gently pushed. Jill, who had already drunk a lot, couldn't maintain her balance at this moment; her entire body fell backward.
Just as she was about to fall to the ground, the stranger suddenly pulled her, bringing her into his embrace. However, his posture was not intimate; instead, it was full of coercion. His arms were wrapped around her neck, and his other hand held Jill's gun pressed against her lower back.
"The closer the firearm, the less threatening it is.
Because you simply don't have much time to react." The stranger's teasing voice echoed in her ear, igniting a furious Fire in Jill's heart. She desperately tried to break free from the stranger's hold, but she couldn't escape his grasp.
It seemed she could only surrender. However, she wasn't alone here.
A shotgun extended from the side, aimed at the back of the stranger's head. Old Josh's fierce voice followed.
"Let her go, you bastard. Or you'll taste buckshot."
"Alright, alright. Don't let it go off, or this beauty and I will both be getting our funeral arrangements made." The stranger slowly raised the hand holding the gun, and under Old Josh's wary gaze, he slowly placed the gun on the bar.
Old Josh stared at him intently, but as the pistol passed before his eyes, his attention was inevitably diverted for a moment. And it was in that moment that the stranger seized his chance.
The pistol suddenly dropped onto the table, making Old Josh's eyes jump. The stranger, taking advantage of the opportunity, swung his arm back, directly striking Old Josh's shotgun. The barrel of the shotgun violently swayed, and at this moment, the shotgun was naturally no longer aimed at its original target. And in that small interval, the stranger had already pulled out a revolver.
The large and exquisite revolver was pressed against Old Josh's chin before he could move the barrel back, making him stop his movements obediently. The stranger then smiled softly.
"Though I hate to say it, it seems I've won. So, how about we sit down and have a proper talk?"
Jill was still struggling; she had tried elbowing the stranger in the ribs, but it wasn't effective. This feeling was like sparring with a special forces combat instructor, where all your attacks fail to have the desired effect. Instead, under his attacks, you are like a small boat in a storm, unable to find your direction.
So, in the end, she could only ask, deflated.
"What do you want to talk about? If Umbrella sent you to silence me, I suggest you'd best kill me. Unless I'm dead, I'll never keep my mouth shut about that matter."
The stranger sighed, gesturing for Old Josh to drop the shotgun in his hand. After he complied, the stranger put away the revolver in his hand and simultaneously released Jill, who had been restrained.
"I mean no harm, Miss Valentine. I want to talk to you about S.T.A.R.S. I think perhaps you need some help."
As soon as she was out of the stranger's embrace, Jill immediately retreated, creating distance. She watched the stranger warily and asked.
"Help? What help can you give me?"
"Avenge your comrades, and protect the residents of this city. Is that help not enough?"
Revenge. Hearing that word, Jill's weary spirit was like an engine injected with fuel. This was what she had been thinking about. She knew that if she couldn't avenge her fallen teammates, her heart would likely never find peace throughout her life. So, for both herself and her fallen comrades, she had to agree.
However, reason had not entirely deserted her; she wouldn't unconditionally trust a stranger. Not unless he produced something that could make her believe him.
"Who exactly are you, and why are you helping me?"